Methods and apparatus to increase a match rate for media identification

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatus are disclosed herein that increase a match rate for over-the-top media. An example apparatus includes a signature generator to generate a first signature of a first portion of a first media element and an audience measurement interface to receive a second signature of media monitored by a panelist meter. The example apparatus further includes a media element analyzer to compare the first signature and the second signature, determine a number of hits associated with the first media element based on the comparison, and, when the number of hits meets a threshold, generate a third signature of the first media element, the third signature generated for a second portion of the first media element, the second portion greater than the first portion.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates generally to media monitoring, and, moreparticularly, to methods and apparatus to increase a match rate of mediaidentification.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, over-the-top (OTT) media (e.g., Youtube® videos,Netflix® streaming, etc.) has become a primary source for media in someuser households. OTT media is streaming media delivered over theInternet without a multiple-system operator being involved in thecontrol and/or distribution of the media. Because OTT media is beingconsumed at an ever-increasing rate, there is a greater need to monitorthe OTT media that is being watched by consumers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an example environment constructedin accordance with the teachings of this disclosure to monitor media.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example implementation of the exampleaudience measurement handler 116 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructionswhich may be executed to implement the example audience measurementhandler of FIGS. 1-2 to generate preliminary signatures for mediaelements.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructionswhich may be executed to implement the example audience measurementhandler of FIGS. 1-2 to determine impressions and/or hits associatedwith media elements stored at the example central facility of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructionswhich may be executed to implement the example audience measurementhandler of FIGS. 1-2 to determine media elements to be added to theexample reference database of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example processor platform 600structured to execute the instructions of FIGS. 3-5 to implement theapparatus of FIG. 2.

The figures are not to scale. In general, the same reference numberswill be used throughout the drawing(s) and accompanying writtendescription to refer to the same or like parts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Examples disclosed herein are directed to increasing the match rate ofmedia identification. For example, methods and apparatus disclosedherein may be used to increase matching with over-the-top (OTT) media.OTT refers to the delivery of audio, video, and/or other media over theInternet without a multiple-system operator being involved in thecontrol and/or distribution of the media. For example, OTT media isdistributed from one or more third parties to an end user through anInternet-enabled device. Alternatively, examples disclosed herein may beused with any media delivered via satellite, cable television, radiofrequency (RF) terrestrial broadcast, the Internet (e.g., internetprotocol television (IPTV)), television broadcasts, radio broadcastsand/or any other type(s) of transmission for delivering media.

As used herein, an impression is defined to be an event in which a homeor individual is exposed to corresponding media. Thus, an impressionrepresents a home or an individual having been exposed to media (e.g.,an advertisement, content, a group of advertisements, a collection ofcontent, etc.). In Internet media access, a quantity of impressions orimpression count is the total number of times media (e.g., content, anadvertisement, an advertisement campaign, etc.) has been accessed by anInternet audience.

Media may include advertising and/or content. Example types of mediainclude web pages, text, images, streaming video, streaming audio,movies, and/or any other type of content and/or advertisements. In someexamples, media includes user-generated media that is, for example,uploaded to media upload sites such as Youtube® and subsequentlydownloaded and/or streamed by one or more client devices for playback.Media may also include advertisements. Advertisements are typicallydistributed with content (e.g., programming). Traditionally, content isprovided at little or no cost to the audience because it is subsidizedby advertisers that pay to have their advertisements distributed withthe content. As used herein, “media” refers collectively and/orindividually to content and/or advertisement(s) of any type(s).

Often OTT devices (e.g., Roku™ devices, Apple TV™ devices, Samsung™ TVdevices, Chromecast™ devices, Amazon Fire TV™ devices, etc.) providemedia (e.g., content and/or advertising) without tracking exposures(e.g., collecting impressions) to the media. When monitoring OTT mediaon a computer, tablet, and/or other similar panelist device, on-devicemeters (ODMs) easily collect monitoring information (e.g., media beingconsumed, a provider of the media, etc.) for a panelist. However, othertypes of monitoring devices, such as personal portable meters (PPMs) andon-site meters, are not implemented directly on a media device (e.g.,via an application, etc.). Instead, some monitoring devices such asthese detect media content by generating signatures of detected audioand comparing the generated signatures to reference signatures todetermine the media content.

Signature-based media monitoring generally involves determining (e.g.,generating and/or collecting) signature(s) representative of a mediasignal (e.g., an audio signal and/or a video signal) output by amonitored media device (e.g., a mobile device, a television, a personalcomputer, etc.) and comparing the monitored signature(s) to one or morereferences signatures corresponding to known (e.g., reference) mediasources. Various comparison criteria, such as a cross-correlation value,a Hamming distance, etc., can be evaluated to determine whether amonitored signature matches a particular reference signature. When amatch between the monitored signature and one of the referencesignatures is found, the monitored media can be identified ascorresponding to the particular reference media represented by thereference signature. Because attributes, such as an identifier of themedia, a presentation time, a broadcast channel, a uniform resourcelocator (URL), etc., are collected for the reference signature, theseattributes may then be associated with the monitored media whosemonitored signature matched the reference signature. Example systems foridentifying media based on signatures are long known and were firstdisclosed in Thomas, U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,294, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

Signature-based media monitoring techniques generally use one or moreinherent characteristics of the monitored media during a monitoring timeinterval to generate a substantially unique proxy for the media. Such aproxy is referred to as a signature or fingerprint, and can take anyform (e.g., a series of digital values, a waveform, etc.) representativeof any aspect(s) of the media signal(s) (e.g., the audio and/or videosignals forming the media presentation being monitored). A signature maybe a series of signatures collected in series over a timer interval. Agood signature is repeatable when processing the same mediapresentation, but is unique relative to other (e.g., different)presentations of other (e.g., different) media. Accordingly, the term“signature” is defined herein to mean a proxy for identifying media thatis generated from one or more inherent characteristics of the media.

To monitor OTT media consumption, reference signatures for OTT mediamust be included within the reference database. However, in someinstances, OTT media is difficult to maintain within the referencedatabase. For example, OTT media is not broadcast at predetermined timesand dates and/or broadcast on predetermined channels like other types ofmedia (e.g., television). Further, OTT media is created at a rapid paceand includes a variety of content. In some instances, OTT mediadistributors may not make media available for reference signaturegeneration.

To determine what media must be included within the reference database,a comprehensive yet efficient method is required. Including too littlemedia within the reference database reduces the accuracy and breadth ofthe media monitoring conducted by an audience measurement entity (AME),while including too much media within the reference database puts anunnecessary burden on the database and data storage requirements tomaintain such large amounts of data.

Thus, examples disclosed herein provide improved apparatus and methodsthat determine media that is to be stored within a reference databasefor subsequent use in media monitoring conducted by the AME. Further,examples disclosed herein increase the match rate of the media beingconsumed by panelists because more media is added to the referencedatabase, allowing it to be regularly monitored and/or credited.

Some examples disclosed herein include generating first signatures ofportions of a media element and receiving one or more second signaturesfrom monitored media elements. The examples further include comparingthe one or more second signatures with the first signature, determininga number of impressions associated with the first media element based onthe comparison, and, when the number of impressions meets a threshold,generating a third signature of the first media element, the thirdsignature generated for the entire first media element.

Some examples disclosed herein include media elements that areassociated with over-the-top media. Further, in some examples disclosedherein, the portion of the first media element is the first thirtyseconds of the media element. Other examples disclosed herein includeidentifying the media element prior to generating the first signaturebased on a number of views associated with the first media element on ahost website. In some such examples, the first media element isidentified by a web crawler.

Some examples disclosed herein include storing the second signature in areference database as a reference signature. The reference signaturesstored in the reference database are used to determine a number ofimpressions associated with monitored media elements. Some otherexamples include determining a hit associated with the media element bydetecting when one of the second signatures matches the first signature.In some such examples, a match is detected based on a Hamming distanceor a cross-correlation value.

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an example environment 100constructed in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure tomonitor over-the-top media. The illustrated example includes a centralfacility 102 to receive media monitoring information (e.g., signatures,uniform resource locators (URLs), media titles, etc.) from panelists 104regarding media (e.g., advertisements, over-the-top (OTT) media, etc.)consumed by the example panelists 104. The example central facility 102is communicatively coupled to example panelist meter 106 via an examplenetwork 108. In some examples, the panelist meter 106 is an on-sitemeter that collects and/or generates signatures of detected audio fromthe media being consumed by the panelist. In such an example, thesignatures collected and/or generated by the panelist meter 106 aretransmitted to the central facility 102 via a network 108 forprocessing. In other examples, the panelist meter 106 is a personalportable meter (PPM) that generates signatures of detected audio and/orvideo.

The illustrated example environment 100 further includes a contentprovider 110 that transmits media content (e.g., OTT media, televisionprograms, etc.) to panelist devices used by the example panelists. Forexample, the content provider 110 can be an OTT provider (e.g., Hulu®,Netflix®, etc.), a television broadcast network (e.g., NBC, CBS, etc.),and/or other providers of content over the example network 108. In someexamples, media content transmitted by the example content provider 110is detected by the example panelist meter 106 when consumed by thepanelists 104. Although the illustrated example of FIG. 1 includes asingle example content provider 110, some other examples includemultiple content providers communicatively coupled to the examplecentral facility 102 and/or provided to the example panelists 104 viathe example network 108.

The media content provided by the example content provider 110 isadditionally transmitted to the example central facility 102. Thecentral facility 102 receives the media content at an example contentprovider interface 112. In the illustrated example, the example centralfacility 102 includes an example audience measurement handler 116, whichgenerates reference signatures for the media elements received at theexample audience measurement interface 114. As used herein, the term“media element” refers to a singular or specific element of contentand/or advertisement(s) of any type(s) (e.g., an episode of a TV show, aYoutube® video, an advertisement, etc.). The example audiencemeasurement handler 116 stores the generated signatures in an examplereference database 118. In some examples, the audience measurementhandler 116 stores other information associated with the media element(e.g., a title of the media content, an identifier associated with themedia content, etc.) with the generated signature. The signatures in theexample reference database 118 can be used to match signatures receivedat the audience measurement interface 114 from the example panelistmeter 106. When a signature received from the example panelist meter 106matches a signature stored in the example reference database 118, animpression is collected for the media element. For example, the panelistmeter 106 generates a signature for a media element consumed by thepanelist 104 (e.g., a Youtube® video, an episode streaming throughNetflix®, etc.), and transmits the generated signature to the centralfacility 102 via the network 108. In such an example, the audiencemeasurement handler 116 compares the generated signature to one or moresignatures stored in the reference database 118, and, when a signaturestored in the reference database 118 matches the generated signatures,associates an impression with the media element in the referencedatabase 118.

In some examples, the content provider 110 is a provider of OTT mediaand transmits OTT media elements to the central facility 102 via thenetwork 108. However, it is not desirable for reference signatures to begenerated by the example audience measurement handler 116 for every OTTmedia element because generating signatures for all OTT media wouldincrease the storage requirements of the example reference database 118and the example central facility 102. Therefore, it is desirable tofirst determine the OTT media to be stored in the example referencedatabase 118 before generating signatures for the OTT media elementsprovided by the example content provider 110.

The example audience measurement handler 116 thus determines preliminarysignatures for the OTT media elements provided by the example contentprovider 110. As used herein, the term “preliminary signature” refers toa signature collected and/or generated for a portion of a media element.In some examples, preliminary signatures are signatures generated forthe first thirty seconds of the media element. In some other examples,the signatures are generated for longer or shorter portions of the mediaelement. In some examples, the preliminary signatures are generated frommultiple portions of the media element (e.g., a portion at the beginningand a portion at the end of the media, etc.).

The preliminary signatures generated by the example audience measurementhandler 116 are stored in an example preliminary signature database 120.In some examples, the preliminary signatures stored in the examplepreliminary signature database 120 are associated with the media elementfrom which they were generated. The example preliminary signaturedatabase 120 further includes other information associated with themedia element (e.g., a title of the media element, ID associated withthe media element, etc.).

When the example panelist meter 106 generates a signature and transmitsthe signature to the example central facility 102, the audiencemeasurement handler 116 compares the signature to the preliminarysignatures stored in the example preliminary signature database 120. Insome examples, when a signature is received from the panelist meter 106,the audience measurement handler 116 compares the generated signature tothe preliminary signatures stored in the preliminary signature database120. If a match is detected, the example audience measurement handler116 associates a hit with the media element of the generated signature.As used herein, the term “hit” refers to a match between a signaturegenerated by a metering device (e.g., the panelist meter 106) and apreliminary signature stored in the example preliminary signaturedatabase 120. For example, a hit may correspond to a panelist viewing amedia element on a monitored device. Thus, the more hits that areassociated with a media element, the more it has been viewed.

In the illustrated example, the central facility 102 further includes areporting database 122. The example reporting database 122 storesmonitoring information used to generate reports. For example, thereporting database 122 stores media elements and an associated number ofimpressions and/or other monitoring information (e.g., demographicinformation associated with the impressions of the media element,characteristics associated with panelists, etc.). In some examples, areport is generated based on the content and/or information stored inthe reporting database 122 and subsequently provided to a contentprovider (e.g., the example content provider 110) and/or anotherinterested party.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example implementation of the exampleaudience measurement handler 116 of FIG. 1. The example audiencemeasurement handler 116 includes an example media identifier 202, anexample signature generator 204, an example media element selector 206an example media element analyzer 208, an example queue 210, and anexample media database 212.

In the illustrated example, media elements are accessed from the examplecontent provider 110 via the example content provider interface 112 andstored in the example media database 212. For example, the contentprovider 110 of FIG. 1 is communicatively coupled to the contentprovider interface 112 via the network 108 of FIG. 1. The media contentprovided by the example content provider 110 of FIG. 1 is thus deliveredto the audience measurement handler 116 for processing at the examplecentral facility 102. In some examples, the content provider 110 is aprovider of OTT media (e.g., Netflix®, Hulu®, etc.). In some examples,the content provider 110 provides other media content (e.g., televisionbroadcasts) to the central facility 102.

In the illustrated example, the media identifier 202 identifies themedia element or elements for which preliminary signatures are to begenerated. The example media identifier 202 determines which of themedia elements accessed via the content provider interface 112 are to beadded to the preliminary signature database 120 of FIG. 1. In someexamples, the media identifier 202 identifies media elements from awebsite that hosts OTT media (e.g., Youtube®, Hulu®, etc.) that areincluded in a most-viewed or top-ranked section. For example, the mediaidentifier 202 can access a “trending videos” section of a website(e.g., Youtube®, Dailymotion, Vevo, etc.), remove commercials includedin the media element, if necessary, and store the media element in themedia database 212. In some such examples, the media identifier 202 usesa web crawler to systematically index the media included in thesesections.

In some examples, the media identifier 202 identifies other types ofmedia elements (e.g., Digital Versatile Discs (DVDs), televisionprograms, etc.) to be included in the preliminary signature database120. For example, the media identifier 202 can identify media fromdifferent sections of movies and/or movies in different languages. Insuch examples, portions (e.g., bumpers) of movies or TV shows (e.g., afamous scene in a movie) are identified by the media identifier 202.Further, some examples include identifying the same media element inmultiple different languages (e.g., English, Spanish, Hindi, etc.). Itis advantageous to identify these other types of media elements forwhich preliminary signatures are to be generated because they ofteninclude large amounts of data (e.g., because they include movies andother longer content) which requires increased storage within thereference database 118. Using the methods disclosed herein to generatepreliminary signatures for this content reduces the storage requirementsof the central facility 102.

The example media identifier 202 further gathers information about themedia element (e.g., a title of a video, a uniform resource locator(URL) associated with the media element, etc.). For example, the mediaidentifier 202 accesses the media element from the content provider 110of FIG. 1 via the content provider interface 112 to determine theinformation about the media element. The example media identifier 202then stores the gathered information in the example media database 212.

The example signature generator 204 of the example audience measurementhandler 116 generates preliminary signatures for the media elementidentified by the example media identifier 202. In some examples, thepreliminary signature is a signature generated for a portion of themedia element (e.g., the first thirty seconds, a scene of the mediaelement, etc.). The example signature generator 204 generatespreliminary signatures using the same algorithm and/or process as theexample panelist meter 106 of FIG. 1 to facilitate accurate matchingbetween the preliminary signatures and the signatures generated by theexample panelist meter 106 of FIG. 1.

The example audience measurement handler 116 is further communicativelycoupled to the example preliminary signature database 120. The examplepreliminary signature database 120 stores preliminary signaturesgenerated by the example signature generator 204. The example audiencemeasurement handler 116 accesses the preliminary signatures stored onthe example preliminary signature database 120 to compare them toreceived signatures (e.g., signatures received from the example panelistmeter 106 of FIG. 1).

In the illustrated example, the example audience measurement interface114 receives signatures of media elements collected by the examplepanelist meter 106 and transmits them to the example audiencemeasurement interface 114. The example audience measurement interface114 further stores the received signatures in the example media database212. In some examples, the media identifier 202 continuously identifiesmedia elements for which the example signature generator 204 generatespreliminary signatures while the signatures of monitored media elementsare received at the audience measurement handler 116. In other words,the processes performed by the example audience measurement handler 116can operate either simultaneously or consecutively without changing thefunction of either process.

In the illustrated example, the received signatures of the monitoredmedia elements stored in the example media database 212 are compared bythe example media element analyzer 208 to those stored in thepreliminary signature database 120 of FIG. 1 and/or the examplereference database 118 of FIG. 1. For example, the media elementanalyzer 208 accesses and compares a received signature to signaturesstored in the reference database 118 to determine whether the signaturematches one of the signatures stored within the reference database 118.Similarly, the example media element analyzer 208 determines whether thereceived signature matches a preliminary signature stored in the examplepreliminary signature database 120. In some examples, the media elementanalyzer 208 operates to simultaneously query the preliminary signaturedatabase 120 and the reference database 118, while in other examples thetwo databases are queried consecutively and/or independently.

When the example media element analyzer 208 determines a match between areceived signature and a signature stored within the reference database118, an impression is counted by the example media element analyzer forthe media element stored in the reference database 118. The impressionis recorded and associated with the media element stored in thereference database 118 in addition to other information associated withthe media element (e.g., a title of the media element, a URL of themedia element, a unique ID associated with the media element, etc.). Themedia element analyzer 208 of the illustrated example continues to addto the number of impressions each time a new match is detected. If thesignature of the received media element does not match any of thesignatures stored in the example reference database 118, the exampleaudience measurement handler 116 queries the preliminary signaturedatabase using the example media element analyzer 208. In otherexamples, the media element analyzer 208 uses other methods to identifythe media element.

When the example media element analyzer 208 determines that the receivedsignature matches a signature in the example preliminary signaturedatabase 120, the example media element analyzer 208 counts a hitassociated with the media element stored in the preliminary signaturedatabase 120 (e.g., by associating the hit with a media element title,ID, URL, etc.). The example media element analyzer 208 continues to addto the number of hits associated with the media elements as moresignatures are received that match preliminary signatures within thepreliminary signature database 120.

In some examples, a match is not detected by the media element analyzer208 in either the reference database 118 or the preliminary signaturedatabase 120. In such examples, alternative methods are used todetermine the unidentified media element. In some examples, a URLassociated with the unidentified media is determined, and informationrelated to the media element (e.g., a title of the media element,provider of the media element, etc.) is determined by accessing the URL.In some examples, a user or administrator accesses the URL and the mediaelement is identified manually. In other examples, the identification isan automated process performed by, for example, the media identifier 202of the audience measurement handler 116. Further example methods andapparatus for identifying streaming media sources are disclosed in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/467,734, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

In the illustrated example, the example media element selector 206selects a media element from the example preliminary signature database120 to be analyzed. For example, the media element analyzer 208 comparesthe hits associated with the selected media element stored in thepreliminary signature database 120 to a threshold value to determine ifan expanded signature is to be generated for the media element. As usedherein, the term “expanded signature” refers to a signature that isgenerated for a media element having a greater duration than thepreliminary signature (e.g., half of the duration of the media element,the entire duration of the media element, etc.). The duration for whichthe expanded signature is generated is typically a duration known by theAME to provide accurate monitoring of the media element. For example,the expanded signature can be generated for a particular percentage ofthe media element (e.g., 75% of the duration of the media element,etc.). The example media element analyzer 208 then determines whetherthe number of hits associated with the selected media element meets athreshold. In some examples, the threshold is determined as a requirednumber of hits. In some such examples, the required number of hits maybe determined by a user or administrator. In other examples, thethreshold is determined to be a percentage of media elements in thepreliminary signature database 120 having the highest number of hits(e.g., the media elements having the highest 10% of hits, etc.). Instill other examples, the threshold is determined based on the mediaelement having the highest number of hits. For example, the thresholdmay be set at 80% of the hits of the media element having the highestnumber of hits. If the number of hits associated with the media elementmeets the threshold, the media element is added to the example queue210. In the illustrated example, the example queue 210 is a databasethat includes media elements that are to be added to the examplereference database 118. On the other hand, if the media element does notmeet the threshold, the media element selector 206 does not add it tothe example queue 210 and selects a new media element to be analyzed.

When a media element from the preliminary signature database 120 hasbeen added to an example queue 210, the example signature generator 204generates an expanded signature for the media element held in theexample queue 210. The expanded signatures and associated informationare subsequently added to the example reference database 118. Theprocess of selecting media elements in the preliminary signaturedatabase 120 and adding them to the reference database 118 can occurbefore, during, and after the generation of preliminary signature.

When the example audience measurement handler 116 has processed thesignatures and/or other media monitoring information, it transmitsprocessed information to the example reporting database 122, to which itis communicatively coupled. The example reporting database 122 storesinformation received from the audience measurement handler 116 used togenerate reporting information associated with one or more mediaelements (e.g., a number of impressions, etc.).

While an example manner of implementing the example audience measurementhandler 116 of FIG. 1 is illustrated in FIG. 2, one or more of theelements, processes and/or devices illustrated in FIG. 2 may becombined, divided, re-arranged, omitted, eliminated and/or implementedin any other way. Further, the example media identifier 202, the examplesignature generator 204, the example media element analyzer 208, theexample media element selector 206, and/or, more generally, the exampleaudience measurement handler 116 of FIGS. 1-2 may be implemented byhardware, software, firmware and/or any combination of hardware,software and/or firmware. Thus, for example, any of the example mediaidentifier 202, the example signature generator 204, the example mediaelement analyzer 208, the example media element selector 206 and/or,more generally, the example audience measurement handler 116 could beimplemented by one or more analog or digital circuit(s), logic circuits,programmable processor(s), programmable controller(s), graphicsprocessing unit(s) (GPU(s)), digital signal processor(s) (DSP(s)),application specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logicdevice(s) (PLD(s)) and/or field programmable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)).When reading any of the apparatus or system claims of this patent tocover a purely software and/or firmware implementation, at least one ofthe example media identifier 202, the example signature generator 204,the example media element analyzer 208, the example media elementselector 206, and/or the example audience measurement handler 116 is/arehereby expressly defined to include a non-transitory computer readablestorage device or storage disk such as a memory, a digital versatiledisk (DVD), a compact disk (CD), a Blu-ray disk, etc. including thesoftware and/or firmware. Further still, the example audiencemeasurement handler 116 of FIGS. 1-2 may include one or more elements,processes and/or devices in addition to, or instead of, thoseillustrated in FIG. 2, and/or may include more than one of any or all ofthe illustrated elements, processes and devices. As used herein, thephrase “in communication,” including variations thereof, encompassesdirect communication and/or indirect communication through one or moreintermediary components, and does not require direct physical (e.g.,wired) communication and/or constant communication, but ratheradditionally includes selective communication at periodic intervals,scheduled intervals, aperiodic intervals, and/or one-time events.

A flowchart representative of example hardware logic, machine readableinstructions, hardware implemented state machines, and/or anycombination thereof for implementing the audience measurement handler116 of FIGS. 1-2 is shown in FIGS. 3-5. The machine readableinstructions may be an executable program or portion of an executableprogram for execution by a computer processor such as the processor 612shown in the example processor platform 600 discussed below inconnection with FIG. 6. The program may be embodied in software storedon a non-transitory computer readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, afloppy disk, a hard drive, a DVD, a Blu-ray disk, or a memory associatedwith the processor 612, but the entire program and/or parts thereofcould alternatively be executed by a device other than the processor 612and/or embodied in firmware or dedicated hardware. Further, although theexample programs are described with reference to the flowchartsillustrated in FIGS. 3-5, many other methods of implementing the exampleaudience measurement handler 116 may alternatively be used. For example,the order of execution of the blocks may be changed, and/or some of theblocks described may be changed, eliminated, or combined. Additionallyor alternatively, any or all of the blocks may be implemented by one ormore hardware circuits (e.g., discrete and/or integrated analog and/ordigital circuitry, an FPGA, an ASIC, a comparator, anoperational-amplifier (op-amp), a logic circuit, etc.) structured toperform the corresponding operation without executing software orfirmware.

As mentioned above, the example processes of FIGS. 3-5 may beimplemented using executable instructions (e.g., computer and/or machinereadable instructions) stored on a non-transitory computer and/ormachine readable medium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, aread-only memory, a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a cache, arandom-access memory and/or any other storage device or storage disk inwhich information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended timeperiods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarily buffering,and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, the termnon-transitory computer readable medium is expressly defined to includeany type of computer readable storage device and/or storage disk and toexclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media.

“Including” and “comprising” (and all forms and tenses thereof) are usedherein to be open ended terms. Thus, whenever a claim employs any formof “include” or “comprise” (e.g., comprises, includes, comprising,including, having, etc.) as a preamble or within a claim recitation ofany kind, it is to be understood that additional elements, terms, etc.may be present without falling outside the scope of the correspondingclaim or recitation. As used herein, when the phrase “at least” is usedas the transition term in, for example, a preamble of a claim, it isopen-ended in the same manner as the term “comprising” and “including”are open ended. The term “and/or” when used, for example, in a form suchas A, B, and/or C refers to any combination or subset of A, B, C such as(1) A alone, (2) B alone, (3) C alone, (4) A with B, (5) A with C, (6) Bwith C, and (7) A with B and with C.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructionswhich may be executed to implement the example audience measurementhandler 116 of FIGS. 1-2 to generate preliminary signatures for mediaelements. The example program 300 begins at block 302 where the exampleaudience measurement handler 116 of FIGS. 1-2 identifies a media elementto be monitored. For example, the example media identifier 202 of FIG. 2identifies a media element from the example content provider 110 of FIG.1 that is to be added to the example preliminary signature database 120of FIG. 1. In some examples, the content provider interface 112 of FIG.2 provides access to a media element or media elements included withinthe content provider 110, and the media identifier 202 of FIG. 2identifies which of the media elements are to be monitored. In someexamples, the media identifier 202 identifies media elements from awebsite that hosts OTT media elements (e.g., Youtube®, Hulu®, etc.). Insome examples, the media identifier 202 identifies media elements of thewebsite that are included in a most-viewed or top-ranked section. Insome such examples, the media identifier 202 uses a web crawler tosystematically index the content included in these sections and/or allmedia elements provided by the content provider 110. In some examples,the media identifier 202 identifies other types of media elements (e.g.,Digital Versatile Discs (DVDs), television programs, etc.) to beincluded in the preliminary signature database 120.

At block 304, the audience measurement handler 116 accesses theidentified media element. For example, the media identifier 202 of FIG.2 accesses the source of the identified media element to determineinformation associated with the media element (e.g., a video title, anepisode title, a uniform resource locator (URL), etc.). In someexamples, the media element and the associated information is stored inthe media database 212 of FIG. 2. In some examples, the informationassociated with the media element is used to identify the media elementwithin a database (e.g., the preliminary signature database 120, thereference database 118, etc.) and facilitate future access to the mediaelement.

At block 306, the audience measurement handler 116 generates apreliminary signature for the media element. For example, the signaturegenerator 204 of FIG. 2 generates a preliminary signature (e.g., asignature generated for the first thirty seconds) of a portion of themedia element identified by the media identifier 202. In some examples,the signature generator 204 generates a signature of the media elementby accessing the URL of the media element and running a signaturealgorithm for a portion of the media elements. In some such examples,commercials included in the media element are removed prior togenerating the signature.

At block 308, the audience measurement handler 116 stores the generatedpreliminary signature in a preliminary signature database. For example,the preliminary signature generated by the signature generator 204 istransmitted to the preliminary signature database 120 of FIG. 1.Further, the information associated with the media element (e.g., thetitle, URL, etc.) gathered by the example media identifier 202 of FIG. 2are stored with the example preliminary signature in the preliminarysignature database 120.

The example program 300 further determines whether more media elementsare to be monitored at block 310. For example, the media identifier 202identifies whether more media elements are to be monitored and stored inthe preliminary signature database 120. When the media identifier 202determines that more media elements are to be monitored, control ofprogram 300 returns to block 302, where the example media identifier 202begins the process of collecting information associated with the newmedia element. If, on the other hand, the example media identifier 202determines that no more media elements are to be monitored, the exampleprogram 300 concludes.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructionswhich may be executed to implement the example audience measurementhandler 116 of FIGS. 1-2 to determine impressions and/or hits associatedwith media elements stored at the example central facility 102 of FIG.2. The example program 400 begins at block 402 where the audiencemeasurement handler 116 receives a signature collected by a meteringdevice. For example, the audience measurement interface 114 receivessignatures at the audience measurement handler 116 from the examplepanelist meter 106. The example panelist meter 106 collects signaturesof media content (e.g., one or more media elements) and transmits thesignatures, via a network (e.g., the example network 108 of FIG. 1), tothe example audience measurement interface 114 of the example centralfacility 102. The example audience measurement interface 114 stores thereceived signatures in the example media database 212 of the exampleaudience measurement handler 116.

At block 404, the audience measurement handler 116 determines whetherthe signature matches a signature in a reference database (e.g., theexample reference database 118 of FIG. 1). For example, the signaturereceived by the audience measurement interface 114 is stored in themedia database 212 of FIG. 2. The example media element analyzer 208compares the received signature to the signatures stored in the examplereference database 118 and detects any matches that occur. In someexamples, a match is determined based on a cross-correlation value, aHamming distance, or other criteria used to determine a relationshipbetween the received signature and a reference signature. When theexample media element analyzer 208 determines that the receivedsignature matches a signature stored in the example reference database118, control of program 400 proceeds to block 406. If the example mediaelement analyzer 208 determines that the received signature does notmatch a signature stored in the example reference database 118, controlof program 400 proceeds to block 408.

At block 406, the audience measurement handler 116 adds an impressionassociated with the media element to the reference database. Forexample, when a match is detected by the media element analyzer 208(block 404), the media element analyzer 208 adds an impressionassociated with the media element stored in the reference database. Insome examples, the media element analyzer 208 stores the number ofimpressions of the media element in the reference database 118. Themedia element analyzer 208 updates the reference database 118 to reflectthe number of impressions each time a new match is detected, therebykeeping an updated record of panelist consumption of the media elementstored in the reference database 118. When the impression is added tothe reference database 118 by the example media element analyzer 208,control of the example program 400 proceeds to block 414.

At block 408, the audience measurement handler 116 determines whetherthe signature matches a preliminary signature in a preliminary signaturedatabase (e.g., the example preliminary signature database 120 of FIG.1). For example, the media element analyzer 208 of FIG. 2 compares areceived signature (e.g., generated by the example panelist meter 106 ofFIG. 1) stored in the media database 212 to the preliminary signaturesstored within the preliminary signature database 120. The example mediaelement analyzer 208 detects that a preliminary signature in thepreliminary signature database 120 matches the received signature basedon one or more criteria. For example, the media element analyzer 208 maydetermine whether there is a match based on a cross-correlation value, aHamming distance, or other criteria used to determine a relationshipbetween the received signature and a preliminary signature. When themedia element analyzer 208 detects a match, control proceeds to block410. If the media element analyzer 208 does not detect a match in thepreliminary signature database 120, control of program 400 proceeds toblock 412.

When the media element analyzer 208 matches the received signature to apreliminary signature in the preliminary signature database 120, theaudience measurement handler 116 adds a hit associated with the mediaelement to the preliminary signature database 120 (block 410). Forexample, the media element analyzer 208 adds a hit to the media elementassociated with the preliminary signature in the preliminary signaturedatabase 120. The example media element analyzer 208 continuously addsto the number of hits associated with each stored media element as morematches between preliminary signatures and received signatures aredetected. In some examples, the media element analyzer 208 compares themonitored signature to the preliminary signatures in the preliminarysignature database 120 prior to comparing the monitored signature to thesignatures in the reference database 118. In other examples, the mediaelement analyzer 208 compares the monitored signature to the signaturesin the preliminary signature database 120 and the reference database 118simultaneously.

At block 412, the audience measurement handler 116 tracks unknown mediaelements. For example, a signature of a monitored media element thatdoes not match a signature stored in either the reference database 118or the preliminary signature database 120 is unknown and/or previouslyunidentified by the example central facility 102 of FIG. 1. In suchexamples, the audience measurement handler 116 identifies the source ofthe media element, as described in more detail in connection with FIG.2. In some examples, the previously unidentified media element is addedto the example reference database 118 and/or the example preliminarysignature database 120.

At block 414, the audience measurement handler 116 determines whethermore signatures are received from the metering device (e.g., the examplepanelist meter 106 of FIG. 1). For example, the media identifier 202determines whether the audience measurement handler 116 has receivedmore signatures from the panelist meter 106 of FIG. 1. When the examplemedia identifier 202 determines that more signatures have been received,control returns to block 402. When the example media identifier 202determines that more signatures have not been received, the exampleprogram 400 concludes.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructionswhich may be executed to implement the example audience measurementhandler 116 of FIGS. 1-2 to determine media elements that are to beadded to a reference database (e.g., the reference database 118 of FIGS.1-2). The example program 500 begins at block 502 where the audiencemeasurement handler 116 selects a preliminary signature associated witha media element. For example, the media element selector 206 of FIG. 2selects a media element from the preliminary signature database 120 ofFIG. 1 to determine whether a signature should be generated for theentire media element.

At block 504, the audience measurement handler 116 determines a numberof hits associated with the media element selected in block 502. Forexample, the media element selected by the media element selector 206 isanalyzed by the media element analyzer 208 to determine a total numberof hits associated with the media element, as described in connectionwith FIG. 4.

Using the number of hits, the example audience measurement handler 116determines whether the number of hits meets a threshold (block 506). Forexample, the media element analyzer 208 determines a threshold number ofhits indicative of a level of consumption of the media element amongpanelists and/or consumers. In some examples, the threshold is set at apredetermined value by a user or administrator at the central facility102 of FIG. 1. In some examples, the threshold is based on a relativenumber of hits between one or more media elements in the preliminarysignature database 120 (e.g., the top 10% of the media elements havingthe most hits). In some other examples, the threshold is determinedbased on other criteria. When the number of hits exceeds the threshold,control proceeds to block 508. When the number of hits does not exceedthe threshold, control proceeds to block 514.

At block 508, the example audience measurement handler 116 adds themedia element to a queue. For example, the media element analyzer 208stores the media element in the queue 210 of FIG. 2 when the number ofhits associated with the media element exceeds the threshold. Theexample queue 210 is a database that includes media elements that are tobe added to the example reference database 118. In other words, theexample queue 210 stores the media elements during the transfer from theexample preliminary signature database 120 to the example referencedatabase 118.

At block 510, the example audience measurement handler 116 generates anexpanded signature for the media element. For example, the signaturegenerator 204 of FIG. 2 accesses the media element corresponding to thepreliminary signature stored in the queue 210 and generates an expandedsignature (e.g., a signature for the entire duration of the mediaelement) for the media element. In some examples, the signaturegenerator 204 accesses the media element using the URL informationstored in the media database 212, removes any commercials included inthe media element, and generates a signature using the same algorithm aswas used for the other signatures stored in the reference database 118.Using the same algorithm for signature generation increases the correctmatching between monitored signatures (e.g., by the example panelistmeter 106 of FIG. 1) and signatures stored in the example preliminarysignature database 120 and/or the example reference database 118.

At block 512, the example audience measurement handler 116 adds theexpanded signature of the media element to a reference database. Forexample, the expanded signature generated by the signature generator 204is transmitted to the reference database 118, and, once added to thereference database 118, is used to attribute impressions to media.Further information for the media element is associated with the mediaelement and stored in the reference database. Once a new signature isadded to the example reference database 118, accurate measurements of anumber of impressions of the media can be collected.

At block 514, the example audience measurement handler 116 determineswhether more media elements are to be selected. For example, the mediaelement selector 206 determines whether more preliminary signaturesstored in the preliminary signature database 120 are to be selected andpotentially added to the reference database 118. When the example mediaelement selector 206 determines that more media elements are to beselected and processed, control of the example program 500 returns toblock 502. Conversely, if the media element selector determines that nomore media elements are to be selected for the example program 500, theexample program 500 concludes.

The example methods of FIGS. 3-5 can be executed simultaneously,independently, and/or consecutively. The methods disclosed hereinoperate to detect media previously not included in the example referencedatabase 118, determine a number of hits and/or views of the media, andadd media elements having sufficient views to the example referencedatabase 118. Such methods prove especially useful for OTT media, aswell as other forms of media that are not in a program lineup or otherset schedule (e.g., movies on DVD, streaming media, etc.). By addingonly the media elements meeting specified criteria, the wide variety andimmense amount of OTT media, DVDs, etc. cab be streamlined to improvereference media used for crediting without a substantial change instorage requirements.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example processor platform 600structured to execute the instructions of FIGS. 3-5 to implement theaudience measurement handler 116 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2. The processorplatform 600 can be, for example, a server, a personal computer, aworkstation, a self-learning machine (e.g., a neural network), a mobiledevice (e.g., a cell phone, a smart phone, a tablet such as an iPad), apersonal digital assistant (PDA), an Internet appliance, a set top box,or any other type of computing device.

The processor platform 600 of the illustrated example includes aprocessor 612. The processor 612 of the illustrated example is hardware.For example, the processor 612 can be implemented by one or moreintegrated circuits, logic circuits, microprocessors, GPUs, DSPs, orcontrollers from any desired family or manufacturer. The hardwareprocessor may be a semiconductor based (e.g., silicon based) device. Inthis example, the processor implements the example media identifier 202,the example signature generator 204, the example media element selector206, and the example media element analyzer 208.

The processor 612 of the illustrated example includes a local memory 613(e.g., a cache). The processor 612 of the illustrated example is incommunication with a main memory including a volatile memory 614 and anon-volatile memory 616 via a bus 618. The volatile memory 614 may beimplemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), DynamicRandom Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS® Dynamic Random Access Memory(RDRAM®) and/or any other type of random access memory device. Thenon-volatile memory 616 may be implemented by flash memory and/or anyother desired type of memory device. Access to the main memory 614, 616is controlled by a memory controller.

The processor platform 600 of the illustrated example also includes aninterface circuit 620. The interface circuit 620 may be implemented byany type of interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface, auniversal serial bus (USB), a Bluetooth® interface, a near fieldcommunication (NFC) interface, and/or a PCI express interface.

In the illustrated example, one or more input devices 622 are connectedto the interface circuit 620. The input device(s) 622 permit(s) a userto enter data and/or commands into the processor 612. The inputdevice(s) can be implemented by, for example, an audio sensor, amicrophone, a camera (still or video), a keyboard, a button, a mouse, atouchscreen, a track-pad, a trackball, isopoint and/or a voicerecognition system.

One or more output devices 624 are also connected to the interfacecircuit 620 of the illustrated example. The output devices 1024 can beimplemented, for example, by display devices (e.g., a light emittingdiode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a cathode ray tube display (CRT), an in-place switching(IPS) display, a touchscreen, etc.), a tactile output device, a printerand/or speaker. The interface circuit 620 of the illustrated example,thus, typically includes a graphics driver card, a graphics driver chipand/or a graphics driver processor.

The interface circuit 620 of the illustrated example also includes acommunication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, amodem, a residential gateway, a wireless access point, and/or a networkinterface to facilitate exchange of data with external machines (e.g.,computing devices of any kind) via a network 626. The communication canbe via, for example, an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriber line(DSL) connection, a telephone line connection, a coaxial cable system, asatellite system, a line-of-site wireless system, a cellular telephonesystem, etc.

The processor platform 600 of the illustrated example also includes oneor more mass storage devices 628 for storing software and/or data.Examples of such mass storage devices 628 include floppy disk drives,hard drive disks, compact disk drives, Blu-ray disk drives, redundantarray of independent disks (RAID) systems, and digital versatile disk(DVD) drives.

The machine executable instructions 632 of FIGS. 3-5 may be stored inthe mass storage device 628, in the volatile memory 614, in thenon-volatile memory 616, and/or on a removable non-transitory computerreadable storage medium such as a CD or DVD.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that example methods,apparatus and articles of manufacture have been disclosed that increasea match rate for over-the-top media and/or other types of media thatwere previously unmatched. In some examples, preliminary signatures,which require less computational power to generate, are generated for aportion (e.g., a first thirty seconds) of the media element. In suchexamples, the media element reduces the storage required for the centralfacility and increases the computational efficiency of monitoring media(e.g., by determining numbers of views based on the shorter preliminarysignature). In some examples disclosed herein, a media element is addedto an example reference database when it is determined to be consumed ata high enough rate or by enough panelists. In such examples, expandedsignatures are generated for only the media elements that meetparticular criteria, which further reduces the storage requirements ofan example central facility. In some examples, new media elements thatwere previously not monitored and/or credited (e.g., the number ofimpressions associated with the media elements was unknown) are added tothe reference database. Thus, some examples disclosed herein increasethe breadth media content included in crediting operations conducted bypanelist meters (e.g., PPMs, on-site meters, etc.) without increasingthe demands placed on the storage of the central facility. In suchexamples, OTT media that were previously difficult to monitor can bemonitored using these panelist meters.

Although certain example methods and apparatus have been disclosedherein, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. Onthe contrary, this patent covers all methods and apparatus fairlyfalling within the scope of the claims of this patent.

1. An apparatus comprising: a signature generator to generate a firstsignature of a first portion of a first media element, wherein the firstsignature is a preliminary signature; an audience measurement interfaceto receive a second signature of media monitored by a panelist meter;and a media element analyzer to: compare the first signature and thesecond signature; determine a number of hits associated with the firstmedia element based on the comparison; and when the number of hits meetsa threshold, generate a third signature of the first media element, thethird signature generated for a second portion of the first mediaelement, wherein the third signature is an expanded version of the firstsignature.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first media elementis associated with over-the-top media.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the first portion of the first media element is the first thirtyseconds of the first media element.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, furtherincluding a media identifier to identify, prior to generating the firstsignature, the first media element based on a number of impressionsassociated with the first media element on a website hosting the firstmedia element.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first mediaelement is identified by a web crawler.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the media element analyzer determines a hit associated with thefirst media element by detecting when the second signature matches thefirst signature.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, further including areference database to store the third signature, the third signatureused to determine a number of impressions associated with monitoredmedia elements.
 8. (canceled)
 9. A tangible, non-transitory computerreadable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed,cause a machine to at least: generate, at a central facility, a firstsignature of a first portion of a first media element, wherein the firstsignature is a preliminary signature; receive, at the central facility,a second signature from monitored media elements; compare the secondsignature with the first signature; determine a number of hitsassociated with the first media element based on the comparison; andwhen the number of hits meets a threshold, generate, at the centralfacility, a third signature of the first media element, the thirdsignature generated for a second portion of the first media element,wherein the third signature is an expanded version of the firstsignature.
 10. The tangible, non-transitory computer readable storagemedium of claim 9, wherein the first media element is associated withover-the-top media.
 11. The tangible, non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of claim 9, wherein the first portion of the first mediaelement is the first thirty seconds of the first media element.
 12. Thetangible, non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9,wherein the instructions further cause the machine to identify the firstmedia element prior to generating the first signature based on a numberof impressions associated with the first media element on a websitehosting the first media element.
 13. The tangible, non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the first mediaelement is identified by a web crawler.
 14. The tangible, non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the instructionsfurther causes the machine to store the third signature in a referencedatabase as a reference signature, the third signature is used todetermine a number of impressions associated with monitored mediaelements.
 15. A method comprising: generating, at a central facility, afirst signature of a first portion of a first media element, wherein thefirst signature is a preliminary signature; receiving, at the centralfacility, a second signature from monitored media elements; comparingthe second signature with the first signature; determining a number ofhits associated with the first media element based on the comparison;and when the number of hits meets a threshold, generating, at thecentral facility, a third signature of the first media element, thethird signature generated for a second portion of the first mediaelement, wherein the third signature is an expanded version of the firstsignature.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first media elementis associated with over-the-top media.
 17. The method of claim 15,wherein the first portion of the first media element is the first thirtyseconds of the first media element.
 18. The method of claim 15, furtherincluding identifying the first media element prior to generating thefirst signature based on a number of impressions associated with thefirst media element on a website hosting the first media element. 19.The method of claim 18, wherein the first media element is identified bya web crawler.
 20. The method of claim 15, further including storing thethird signature in a reference database as a reference signature, thethird signature is used to determine a number of impressions associatedwith monitored media elements.